A Needed Heart To Heart
by Ink Runs Through My Veins
Summary: Keith has slipped up this time! When he says something he instantly regrets, he suddenly finds Kate distancing herself from him. Can he make up with Kate while trying to stop Team Dim Sum and figuring out what he is feeling for one of his best friends?


A Needed Heart-to-Heart  
Sacred Silver Goddess

Just a tad warning: the dialogue has been slightly altered so that it fits this situation.

I don't own the game, anime, manga, ect. I would be rich as hell if I did.

* * *

"Haha! Another mission finished!" Kate gleefully cheered as she skipped down the rocks.

The team – meaning Sven, Keith and Kate – had just made sixteen Dim Sum idiots evacuate the Chroma Highlands because of a _**smelly **_situation.

"Ha!" Kate thought. "It was hilarious to see them all scrambling to get out!" She then took a good look at herself. "Although I would have to wash my uniform after this. I smell like rotten eggs and the boys bathroom back at the Academy."

"Well," Sven announced as he stretched. "I'm going to head out and get another assignment from Chairperson Erma. You guys should go back to the Ranger Base as well." He smiled. "You guys did great. Make sure to get some rest when you finish. See ya!" And he took off, ignoring the Carnivine that tried to eat him.

Keith nodded. "Well. I'm going back to the Base-"

"Gr-"

"-and since we're now Top Rangers it would look bad if we are always together so I'll meet you there. Okay?"

…

"Was he kidding?" She finally thought. "It would really look that bad if we were always together? Way to make a girl feel good Keith." She was one step away from calling him idiot and kicking him in the face.

"Yeah." Her voice was wobbly. "See you there." And she ran off before he could see the tears streaming down her face.

A few minutes after she left, he finally realized what he had said and why her voice sounded so strange.

"Kate! Wait! I didn't mean it like that!" But she was already gone.

He quickly captured a Staraptor and looked for her in the sky.

"Dammit!" He thought angrily. "She must have taken a Doudo. I might as well meet her at the base."

* * *

"A wonderful job blah blah blah Truly marvelous Blah blah blah I commend you to Ranger Rank blah blah blah..."

It was finally evening when Chairperson Erma and Prof. Hastings finally let them go out on patrol.

"Kate wait!" Keith grabbed her arm before she could run off. "Let me explain."

Kate really didn't want to deal with this. She was already running late.

"Fine." She sighed. "You've got five minutes."

He raised a brow. "Deadline?"

She nodded. "I promised my parents I would visit them today, but then Hastings assigned a mission and I had no choice. I called them while I was one my way here to tell them I was only going to come for dinner."

He nodded in understanding. "I see." There was a thick silence. "Look Kate, I didn't mean it like that. I only meant...I mean, we need to focus on our reputation if we're going to defeat Team Dim Sum-"

"What does reputation have to do with friendship or defeating Team Dim Sum? If I'm going to blunt, do you really think reputation is more important than our friendship?"

"...I don't know."

"I see." She sighed. "Well until you've figured it out, I don't think I need to talk to you anymore."

"Kate!"

"Well? What do you think I should do? You obviously take reputation over our friendship! I don't want a friend like that." She checked her watch. "Five minutes are up. I need to go."

"Kate wait!" But she was already sprinting down the hallway, ignoring his pleads.

* * *

"You okay dear?"

Kate nearly jumped at the sound of her mother's voice. She shook her head. "I'm fine Mom. I'm just...tired. It's been a really long week." Or a really long year in general, but Kate didn't want to think about that."

"Oh Kate. Well, you rest up, eat as much as you like and then head to your room. You deserve an evening off."

Kate giggled. "There is no such thing as an evening off for Rangers, Mom. Especially for a Top Ranger."

She rolled her eyes and began to gather the dishes. Her dad spoke up. "Well so long as you have the time, rest up. Your bedroom is always open to you."

"Yeah!" Piped up her little sister. "I won't even wake you up as early as I usually do!"

Kate smiled. "Thanks guys."

* * *

"Keith," Kate nearly flinched at the sound of his name came out of Wendy's mouth. "has been acting strangely lately. He's always depressed and he never hesitates to take on missions that are too big for him. What do you think?"

Kate shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't really talked to him since we went on that mission with Sven."

The Top Ranger raised a brow. "And why not? Aren't you guys, like, the best of friends?"

Kate shrugged again. "Lately, I don't know."

Wendy smiled. "Ah. So you like him."

Kate blushed. "I-What gave you that idea?"

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Please. It's plainly obvious to everyone except you two."

Kate couldn't reply. She did admit during Field Day at the Academy that she liked someone. She knew about her little crush, she just didn't notice it was that obvious.

She hoped Keith didn't know.

* * *

"Keith has been sending messages saying he needs help." Prof. Hastings told everyone at the meeting he held. "We need someone to go and make sure he hasn't done anything stupid. Does anyone volunteer?" Several hands went up, but Prof. Hastings had eyes on only one pair of hands that were on her lap. "Kate? How about you?"

Kate jumped at the mention of her name. "Huh? Yes Prof. Hastings?"

Prof. Hastings gave an amused smile. "You haven't been listening I see. Is everything alright? You've been depressed as of late."

Kate shook her head. "I'm fine Professor. Anyways, what did you ask?"

"I need someone to go and check up on Keith. Would you like the mission?"

Kate winced. "I...I'm sure someone else would love to do it for m-I mean, you."

"Ah, but I need you specifically for this mission. Keith, I'm sure, won''t accept help from anyone else but you." Before Kate could protest, Prof. Hastings smiled. "Alright, it is decided. It shall be Kate who goes to Haruba dessert and finds Keith."

* * *

"Kate! Don't do it!"

"Please Kate!" Keith prayed. "Don't give in! Don't give Heath the Yellow Gem."

Kate was silent for a time, before she finally lifted her head. "Alright." Her voice was thick. "You can have the Yellow Gem. But give back Keith first!"

Heath sneered. "Gladly." He motioned for a grunt to untie he ropes around Keith. When he was free, they pushed him off the helicopter. Luckily, he kept his footing and landed gracefully on the ground. Kate stepped forward and threw the gem at Heath. He caught it with a wicked smile.

"Alright now." He sneered. "Yellow Gem captured. Boss be happy for sure." And he took off.

"Kate!" Keith ran to her. "Are you okay? Cressalia didn't hurt you, did it?"

Kate shook her head. "I'm fine. I can't believe I let them get away." Then she remembered she wasn't talking to him and turned away from him, completely missing the hurt look on his face. "Lets go. Prof. Hastings is waiting for us."

* * *

"KATE!"

Suddenly, Kate wasn't drowning in darkness anymore. Instead, she was being lifted by Keith and the Staraptor he captured.

He sighed. "Whew. Got here just in time. That blast knocked me straight to Lookout Ridge. The guy by the cart and his mom had to wake me up."

Kate sighed. "Glad to see you're okay."

Keith grinned. "It's about time."

"Huh?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing. Now go kick some Dim Sun butt!"

* * *

"That girl really loves to make me worry." Keith thought as he flew on a captured Staraptor to look for Kate. The celebratory party had started half an hour ago and she wasn't even there. He flew for a while before he spotted a familiar pair of spiky pigtails. "Finally!"

Kate didn't even hear him land. Now he was starting to get even more worried. That girl had Pokemon-like senses. She must have been really out of it to not hear him. "Kate?"

She flinched. "Oh. Hi Keith. Whats up?"

"Why aren't you at the party? A Top Ranger from Fiore is looking for you. Solana, her name is. You should have heard about how she defeated Team Go-Rock about two years ago. I got to work with her once. Nice gal. Reminds me of you a bit."

"Yeah." Her voice was quiet. "I know."

There was silence again, before Keith blurted out, "I'm sorry."

"Hm?"

"For what I said a few weeks back. About focusing on our reputations." He sighed. "The truth is, when I was first assigned to a Base in Fiore, I was a little out of control. I didn't want to think of myself as a rookie, so I trained as hard as I could. I made rash mistakes I shouldn't have made. I was reckless and headstrong, so I was in trouble a lot. The Leader of the Base never got fed up with me, but everyone else did. It finally got to the point that when it was my turn to patrol, everyone ran away from me because they heard about how reckless I was. They wanted a responsible Ranger, not a reckless one."

"But that's ridiculous! As long as your focus was helping people, what were they afraid of?"

"Me messing up. Me not being able to do the things they wanted in the way they wanted."

"But even though you are seriously reckless," "Well thanks for the vote of confidence." "You still have everyone's best intentions at heart. That's all that should matter to people."

He grinned. "Thanks Kate. In the end though, I did end up proving myself to everyone and I became a Top Ranger."

"But still, reputation doesn't _**make **_a Ranger! Honor, courage, sincerity. Those are what make a good Ranger." She paused for a minute. "You know I have a younger sister right?" He nodded. "Well, when I was ten, I was about to head out on my journey. I was trying to decide what to do. I knew I wanted to help people, but I didn't know how. Before I left, my sister went to gather flowers that grew on the outskirts on the town. She knew they were my favorite and she wanted to surprise me. But before she could come back, she somehow angered a Torchic and it burned her." She swallowed. "I was almost too late. If I hadn't gotten there in time, her face would have been burnt. She was lucky that it was only her arms. But helping her when she was in trouble was what inspired me to become a Ranger. The feeling of helping someone, we all know what it feels like. It's addicting and you feel good doing it because you're doing good for other people."

By the end of her story, Keith was gaping at her. Who was this melancholy girl? Certainly not the Kate he had come to know and...that was it wasn't it? The reason he was hurt by her coldness, and why he always wanted to save her even though he knew she could take care of herself.

He liked her. He _**really **_liked her.

And he was an idiot.

He shook his head and grabbed her hand to pull her to her feet. "C'mon! Everyone's waiting for you."

They quickly captured Skyraptors and jumped on. But not before Keith grabbed Kate's arm. "Kate, wait. One more thing."

Before she could ask what, he kissed her cheek.

He grinned like an idiot. "That's another thank you. For making me realize something else."

Kate just stared at him dumbly. "Huh?"

He grinned again. "C'mon. We don't want to miss out on your celebratory party."

And so they flew back. And like they used to, they flew back together to join their friends. Barlow, Prof. Hastings and Chairperson Erna were drinking too much with Wendy trying to slow them down. Cameron and Luana were admiring Sven, while Rythmi was arguing with another Operator and Murph was trying to calm them down.

Nobody noticed Kate and Keith as they entered. In fact, it was like nobody noticed they were gone at all.

And they liked it like that.

* * *

This thing is so overflowing with fluff, I literally can not breathe. Review please!


End file.
